The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
Join Jason Palmer and Rosie Blau for noise-cancelling news and analysis from The Economist's global network of correspondents. Every weekday this award-winning podcast picks three stories shaping your world—the big shifts in politics, business and culture, plus things you never knew you needed to know. On Saturdays, download The Weekend Intelligence to dive deep into a single story, vividly told. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription.For more information about Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page at https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
18 snips
Apr 3, 2026 • 24min
Xi says: who will succeed him?
James Miles, a China politics analyst, and Guy Scriven, a European tech and investment writer, discuss Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power and the absence of a clear successor. They explore risks from purges and an aging elite. They also highlight Europe’s growing tech moment: why talent and capital are shifting there and which sectors, like climate and deep tech, look most promising.
44 snips
Apr 2, 2026 • 23min
Over the moon: Artemis II launches
Gabriel Crossley, Beijing-based China correspondent who reports on influencer officials. Deena Mousa, science writer focused on AI and medicine. Oliver Morton, planetary affairs editor and moon expert. They narrate Artemis II’s launch and lunar goals. They unpack LLMs’ poor performance in non-English medical settings. They examine China’s short-video officials and why they go viral.
32 snips
Apr 1, 2026 • 22min
Drone wolf: Ukraine’s missile mastermind
Oliver Carroll, Ukraine correspondent who reports from the front lines, meets the former grain trader turned drone innovator behind Kyiv’s tactics. Short scenes cover repurposing consumer and FPV drones for reconnaissance and strikes. Listeners hear how a points system and a 15-function operational setup reshaped targeting and battlefield workflows.
42 snips
Mar 31, 2026 • 22min
Refine and dandy: Iran’s war bounty
Hamish Clayton, a theatre and arts writer, on understudies, their pay and backstage pressures. Kira Huju, an Asia correspondent, on India’s fight with Maoist insurgents and life in former rebel areas. Rachana Shanbhogue, a business affairs editor, on how Iran evades sanctions to sell oil and who profits from rising prices.
41 snips
Mar 30, 2026 • 25min
The bog of war: week five begins
Alexandra Suich Bass, culture editor noting a boom in original sci‑fi films and the appeal of Project Hail Mary. Annie Crabill, senior digital editor sharing archival snapshots of America’s migration, segregation and imperial turn. Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent explaining the widening Iran conflict, Houthi strikes and risks to shipping and oil. Multiple short segments weave history, geopolitics and big‑screen sci‑fi.
27 snips
Mar 27, 2026 • 24min
Hasta la victoria, quizás: Cuba’s broken economy
Sarah Birke, Cuba reporter, describes how long-term mismanagement and US pressure have hollowed the island’s economy. Natasha Loder, health editor, and Tim Cross, science writer, unpack the booming unregulated peptide trade and its safety and regulatory worries. Ann Wroe, obituaries editor, recounts Chuck Norris’s odd rise to macho-meme fame. Short, sharp looks at crisis, wellness fads and cultural myth-making.
34 snips
Mar 26, 2026 • 22min
Algorithm and blues: a watershed social-media verdict
Tom Wainwright, media editor who breaks down the California social‑media verdict and its legal ripple effects. Anton La Guardia, diplomatic editor who maps how maritime choke points shape geopolitics. Alex Selby‑Boothroyd, head of data journalism who traces the global rise of animated films. They discuss platform design and liability, strategic sea lanes and risks to trade, and why animated movies now dominate the box office.
30 snips
Mar 25, 2026 • 24min
On goal difference: are America and Israel diverging on Iran?
Anshul Pfeffer, Israel correspondent who analyzes Israeli politics and strategy, discusses tensions over US talks with Iran and how American and Israeli aims may be diverging. He explores limits of measuring regime weakness, recent strikes on Iranian missile capabilities, and whether Israel can sustain its campaign without US backing.
40 snips
Mar 24, 2026 • 20min
(Another) all-out war: Afghanistan and Pakistan
Tom Sasse, South Asia bureau chief with field expertise on Afghanistan and Pakistan; Joshua Roberts, capital markets correspondent explaining oil and inflation links; Caitlin Talbot, digital culture correspondent tracking listening-party trends. They discuss rising cross-border violence and its roots. They cover how oil shocks can push inflation and influence central-bank choices. They explore why listening parties now drive music launches.
53 snips
Mar 23, 2026 • 23min
From bad to awful: Trump’s four options in Iran
Gregg Carlstrom, The Economist’s Middle East correspondent, explains four fraught paths for US policy in the Iran war. Alizée Jean-Baptiste, Asia podcasts reporter, digs into Thailand’s monk scandals and why reform is so tricky. They also touch on gene-editing in fruit and how CRISPR could change what we eat.
